Overview book by Diane Yancey on the wartime forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans for middle school audiences that is part of Lucent Books "World History Series."

Synopsis

The Internment of the Japanese
tells its story in seven chapters, along with a brief introductory overview and epilogue. Chapter 1, "The Japanese 'Problem,'" provides an overview of Japanese immigration and settlement, along with the
anti-Japanese movement
and problems faced by the
Nisei
just prior to the war. Chapter 2, "Definite Menace," recounts to events leading up to
Executive Order 9066
, including initial reactions to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the roundup of enemy aliens, reports from
Kenneth Ringle
and
Curtis Munson
, the rise of anti-Japanese sentiment, and the role of General
John DeWitt
and key figures in the Justice and War Departments. Chapter 3, "Military Necessity," focused on the roundup of West Coast Japanese Americans and life in the "
assembly centers
." Chapter 4, "Behind Barbed Wire," focused on life in the
War Relocation Authority
(WRA) camps, including living conditions such as food, health care, and education, as well as unrest. Chapter 5, "A Question of Loyalty," looks at the
loyalty questionnaire
episode and its aftermath,
Tule Lake
, and those groups who left camp early (farm workers, college students, and soldiers). Chapter 6, "Breakthrough," focused on the ending of exclusion and four key legal cases decided by the Supreme Court. Chapter 7, "Return to Freedom," looks as the closing of the camps and its aftermath, including the
All-Center Conference
, the various issues faced by those who returned to the West Coast, and postwar legal cases and legislation that addressed discrimination. A brief epilogue examines the postwar silence of Japanese Americans and
redress movement
.

Each chapter includes two or more sidebars that quote from scholarly works or primary sources as well as numerous photographs. The book also includes a chronology, a foreword that serves as a general series introduction, and lists of suggestions for further reading and of works the author consulted.

Additional Information

Author Diane Yancey (1951– ) has written over forty books for juvenile audience since the early 1990s, many for Lucent Books. Many of her books are on aspects of U.S. history, health, or crime. She wrote a prior book on the incarceration,
Life in a Japanese American Internment Camp
, as part of Lucent's "The Way People Live" series, in 1998.

The Internment of the Japanese
is well researched and contains only minor historical errors or over generalizations. These include claims that Asian school children in San Francisco in 1906 "would be barred from public primary schools" (page 17; they were relegated to segregated schools); that enemy aliens arrested after the attack on Pearl Harbor "were taken to Justice Department internment camps" (27; many also were sent to camps run by the army); that barracks in WRA camps "were arranged with military precision into
blocks
of twenty-four each" (50; depending on the camp, blocks had anywhere from twelve to twenty-four barracks); that barrack rooms were "heated by a small oil-burning stove" (51; depending on the camp, some had stoves that burned wood or coal); that at
Manzanar
, "a group of men led by
Joe Kurihara
attacked one of these informers" (58; though Kurihara was indeed an agitator at Manzanar, he played no direct role in the attack); that the
Evacuation Claims Act
"set aside only $38 million to cover the claims" (90; the $38 million figure is the amount eventually paid out in claims, not the amount allocated); and that author "
Yoshiko Uchida
was only a teen when she and her family were interned at the Topaz center in Utah during the war" (97; Uchida, born on Nov. 24, 1921, turned twenty-one shortly after arriving at Topaz). Park College in Missouri is also referred to as "Parks College" (63).

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

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Teacher Guide

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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The Resource Guide to Media on the Japanese American Removal and Incarceration is a free project of Densho. Our mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy, and promote equal justice for all.